Hypertension, Levels of Serum Gamma Glutamyl Transpeptidase and Degree of Blood Pressure Control in Middle‐Aged Males

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Abstract
Among the first screened 2439 males born in 1926 and 1927, aged 48–49 years at the time of screening and representing 76% of these age cohorts, uncontrolled or partly controlled hypertension was found in 7.5%. Of these individuals, 30% preferred to remain with their physicians, regardless of the degree of control they had achieved. Among those who were referred to the Hypertension Unit (5.2% of the screened population), elevated S‐GT levels (≥1.10 μkat/1) were found in 38.3%, against 18.5% in the two cohorts. During 24 months of treatment and follow‐up only two men among the entire group of hypertensives referred dropped out, both were heavy drinkers (>80 g alcohol daily). The mean BP after treatment was significantly lower among men with normal than high S‐GT values or in those who admitted to heavy drinking. Of the 99 males treated for more than two years, 82 (83%) were responders (supine DBP ≤95 mmHg). C the non‐responders, 70% were either heavy drinkers or had abnormal S‐GT values. The possible role of alcohol in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension in middleaged males is discussed.

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